Pressure to Promote Healthier Eating to Cause Minor Growing Pains for Kids' Licensed Foods and...( NEW YORK Sept. 28 /- Amid increas...),Health

NEW YORK, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Amid increasing pressure to combat childhood obesity, the market for licensed foods and beverages targeted toward three- to eleven-year-olds will lumber forward, breaking the $1 billion mark in 2011, according to Kids' Licensed Foods & Beverages in the U.S., a new report from market research publisher Packaged Facts.

Between 2002 and 2006, U.S. retail sales of kids' licensed food and beverage products rose 9%, from $684 million to $746 million. Riding the coattails of Spiderman, Hannah Montana, Pirates of the Caribbean's Jack Sparrow, and others, the market will continue to grow through 2011, but at a slightly lower than historical CAGR rate, at seven percent.

Pressure from parents, the government, and consumer groups regarding the healthiness of kids' foods and beverages may make keeping pace with the market difficult for some licensors and marketers. However, once through this painful period of re-assessment and re-adjustment, kids' licensed products will again see significant growth.

"Packaged Facts expects alternative kids' licensed products to crop up on store shelves in the once-avoided healthy profile categories, and for marketers to make use of new avenues for promotion that are focused less on television and more on interaction," notes Cathy Minkler, Associate Editor of Packaged Facts. "Eleven major companies that account for a large percentage of children's food and beverage advertising have already pledged to curb their advertising of junk food to kids and no longer use licensed characters to advertise online or in print media unless they're promoting healthier products, and we project that more snack manufacturers will introduce health snack alternatives to drive future profitability."

Kids' Licensed Foods & Beverages in the U.S. provides a comprehensive look at the market for foods and beverages that target children. The report considers products that are not specifically directed at chil
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